The Great Movie Ride (Disney-MGM Studios Ontario)
The Great Movie Ride is a guided vehicle dark ride located in Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World. The attraction employs the use of Audio-Animatronic figures, live actors, special effects, and projections to recreate iconic scenes from films throughout motion picture history. The attraction—which debuted with the park on April 10, 2021—is located inside a recreation of the Chinese Theatre, a famous Hollywood movie palace. Attraction Facade The ride is located inside a recreation of the famous Hollywood landmark TCL Chinese Theatre. At the time the attraction opened, the actual theater's name was "Grauman's Chinese Theatre" and later "Mann's Chinese Theatre", however, because The Walt Disney Company was denied permission to use either official name, the park's proper name for the building is simply "The Chinese Theatre." The theatre facade was obscured from view (when looking from the park's entrance), Queue The line winds through a recreation of the Chinese Theatre lobby past glass display cases containing actual costumes, props, and set pieces from various films. The lobby also features digital posters of various motion pictures. The line then takes guests into a small pre-show theatre where Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne provides insight and commentary about various motion pictures and film genres—such as musicals, adventure, science-fiction,westerns, romance, and gangster films— including those films that are featured in the ride. The queue line ends at a pair of automatic doors at the front of the theatre that lead into a 1930s era Hollywood soundstage where guests are loaded onto waiting ride vehicles. Ride experience As guests reach the end of the queue, they enter a 1930s-era Hollywood sound stage where they are loaded by cast members into one of two pairs of open, theatre-style seating ride vehicles. The ride vehicles utilize a "traveling theatre"-style automated guided vehicle ride system similar to the Universe of Energy attraction at Epcot. However, here the ride vehicles are much smaller in size, are grouped together in pairs of two, and feature an open cab in the first row of the front vehicle for a live tour guide to stand, provide narration, and operate the ride vehicle. Earlier and later in the day, only the second pair of ride vehicles (#2B) are used as the first pair of ride vehicles (#1A) are only used during the busier times of day. The film set within the soundstage features a large neon theatre marquee and a cyclorama of the 1930s-era Hollywood Hills complete with the original Hollywoodland Sign. As the ride begins, "Hooray for Hollywood" plays overhead as the vehicles' tour guide welcomes guests and introduces Osbourne, who informs them (via onboard narration) that they will be taken through scenes from different classic films throughout history. The first genre of films introduced are musicals, which begins with a cake of starlets in a scene from Busby Berkeley's Footlight Parade. The next musical scenes include audio-animatronic figures of Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) swinging from a lamp post from the film Singin' in the Rain, followed by Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) and Bert (Dick Van Dyke) singing on the rooftops of London in Mary Poppins. The next scene is a tribute to gangster films. The ride vehicle passes through the dark and seedy backstreets of a 1930s Chicago and past an audio-animatronic Tom Powers (James Cagney) in a scene from The Public Enemy. When both pairs of ride vehicles are in use, the #1A ride vehicle continues on to the next show scene past a green traffic light above a tunnel entrance while the #2B ride vehicle is stopped when the traffic light changes to red. While stopped, a live gangster named Mugsy (Boy) or Mugsi (Girl) and their audio-animatronic companions Squid and Beans show up and get involved in a shoot-out with rival mobsters (Brains, Legs, and Weasel) in a car on the opposite side of the street where the ride vehicle is stopped. During the shoot out, the live gangster then chases away the tour guide and hijacks the ride vehicle. Next, the ride vehicle enters into a tribute to the Western film genre. Here, guests encounter audio-animatronics of the Man with No Name (Clint Eastwood) standing outside of a saloon and Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) sitting atop his horse. The #2B ride vehicle (which is already being driven by the gangster) continues past a shootout between the town sheriff and an audio-animatronic bank robber named Snake. The gangster ignores the shootout and continues on to the next scene. However, the #1A ride vehicle (which is still being driven by the tour guide) stops in front of the town bank while a bank robbery is in progress. Suddenly, a live bank robber named Kate Durango (if the cast member is female) or Kid Carson (if the cast member is male) appears from inside the bank. After getting into a shoot-out with the town sheriff and chasing the tour guide into the bank, the bandit sets the town bank ablaze with TNT and hijacks the ride vehicle. Following this scene, the remainder of the attraction is the same for both the #1A and #2B ride vehicles. As the ride vehicle continues into a seemingly abandoned spaceship, Osborne identifies it as the Nostromo, the doomed spaceship from Alien. The ride vehicle passes an audio-animatronic Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) holding a flamethrower as she prepares to confront a creature lurking within the ship. Guests can also hear the Nostromo's "Mother" computer warning of an imminent ship self-destruction countdown. Hearing this, the gangster or the bandit becomes nervous and speeds the ride vehicle through the ship, but not before the Alien appears and attacks the guests, popping out from both the ceiling and the wall. The ride vehicle next enters a scene set in an ancient Egyptian pyramid filled with snakes. Osborne informs guests that they are in a scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark as audio-animatronic figures of Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) struggle to lift the Ark of the Covenant. A second room within the temple features a large altar in the form of the ancient Egyptian god Anubis. Near the top of the altar, a large priceless jewel is being watched over by a cloaked temple guard. The gangster or the bandit sees the jewel, stops the ride vehicle, and disembarks to take it. Before touching the jewel, the temple guard gives a warning that those who disturb the treasure of the gods must pay with their life. Ignoring the warning, the gangster or the bandit reaches to grab the jewel. Suddenly, a plume of fiery smoke shoots from the ground engulfing the temple altar. When the smoke disperses, the gangster or the bandit is now nothing more than a skeleton and the cloaked temple guard is revealed to be the live tour guide, who re-boards the ride vehicle and continues on with the show. The next film genre introduced are horror films as the ride vehicle travels through an ancient burial chamber full of mummies, some of which have come to life. The ride vehicle soon leaves the tomb and enters a jungle, which is home to Tarzan the Ape Man. Here, audio-animatronic figures of Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) swinging on a vine, Jane(Maureen O'Sullivan) sitting atop Timba the elephant, and Cheeta the chimpanzee can be seen. The ride vehicle then moves past the final scene from Casablanca, featuring audio-animatronics of Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) as they stand in front of a waiting airplane. Next, the ride vehicle passes a film projection ofMickey Mouse in his role as the Sorcerer's Apprentice from Walt Disney's animated film, Fantasia. The ride vehicle then enters into the Munchkinland scene from The Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy's house has landed on the Wicked Witch of the East. When both the #1A and #2B ride vehicles are in use, they meet up here and come to a stop in the middle of the scene. Audio-Animatronic Munchkins begin to appear from various places and sing as they welcome guests to their home. However, a plume of smoke suddenly rises from the ground as an audio-animatronic Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) appears and asks who is responsible for killing the Wicked Witch of the East. The tour guide aboard the #1A ride vehicle interacts with her before she disappears in another puff of smoke. The Munchkins reappear from their hiding places and begin to sing again as both ride vehicles follow the Yellow Brick Road out of Munchkinland past audio-animatronic figures ofDorothy (Judy Garland), Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), Tin Man (Jack Haley), Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr) and Toto standing in front of the Emerald City, and onto the ride's grand finale. For the grand finale, when both the #1A and #2B ride vehicles are in use, they both enter a dark theatre where they line up side-by-side and come to a stop in front of a large movie screen. There, Osbourne concludes the tour with a three-minute film montage of classic film moments. At the conclusion of the film, both ride vehicles exit the theatre, line up single-file again and return to the 1930s soundstage where the ride concludes. Films and soundtrack Licensing rights Most of the non-Disney/Lucasfilm films represented in the The Great Movie Ride were made and/or owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer when the ride's operation began. Disney and MGM entered into a licensing contract that gave Disney worldwide rights to use the MGM name and logo for what would become Disney-MGM Studios, while separate contracts were used for The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, Singin' in the Rain, A Fistful of Dollars, The Public Enemy, Tarzan the Ape Man and Footlight Parade to give these films representation in The Great Movie Ride. Currently, Time Warner owns the contracts to many of the original MGM films, which are handled by Warner Bros. and Turner Entertainment. The Great Movie Ride also includes Alien, distributed by 20th Century Fox, as Disney originally acquired the rights to the film for a different ride, In addition to 20th Century Fox, scenes from all major film studios are presented in the film montage with one notable exception. Films & TV Shows represented in the ride Current films in finale In alphabetical order: * 2001: A Space Odyssey * 42nd Street * The Adventures of Robin Hood * The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland * Alien * Armageddon * Alaska * All About Eve * Amadeus * Anchors Aweigh * Apocalypse Now * Arsenic and Old Lace * Arthur * Babes in Arms * Behind the Screen * Ben-Hur * The Birth of a Nation * Blazing Saddles * Braveheart * The Bridge on the River Kwai * Bright Eyes * Broadcast News * Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid * Cabin in the Sky * Casablanca * Chariots of Fire * Child's Play * Chicago * Citizen Kane * Cops * The Cure * Dirty Dancing * Doctor Zhivago * Down and Out in Beverly Hills * Finding Nemo * Follow the Fleet * Forrest Gump * F''rankenstein'' * The French Connection * From Here to Eternity * Frozen * Funny Girl * Gentlemen Prefer Blondes * Giant * Gilda * Gremlins * Gremlins 2: The New Batch * The Godfather * The Godfather Part II * The Gold Rush * Good Morning, Vietnam * The Great Train Robbery * Grease * Gone with the Wind * Grand Hotel * The Grapes of Wrath * Guardians of the Galaxy * High Noon * Hud * The Incredibles * It's a Wonderful Life * Jailhouse Rock * Jaws * The Jazz Singer * King Kong * The Kiss * Klute * Lady and the Tramp * Lawrence of Arabia * The Live Ghost * Malcolm X * Marathon Man * Mary Poppins * The Muppet Movie * The Great Muppet Caper * The Muppets * The Matrix * Mission: Impossible * Never Say Never Again * A Night at the Opera * A Nightmare on Elm Street * North by Northwest * Notorious * Pal Joey * Patton * Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl * A Place in the Sun * A Plumbing We Will Go * Poltergeist * Pink Floyd: The Wall * The Peanuts Movie * Pink Floyd's The Wall * Pretty Woman * The Public Enemy * Raiders of the Lost Ark * Rambo: First Blood Part II * The Rink * Risky Business * Roman Holiday * Royal Wedding * The Rocky Horror Picture Show * San Francisco * Saturday Night Fever * Singin' in the Rain * Sister Act * Shakespeare in Love * Some Like It Hot * Stagecoach * Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country * Steamboat Willie * Silkwood * The Sound of Music * Star Wars * Star Wars: The Force Awakens * A Streetcar Named Desire * Sunset Boulevard * Take the Money and Run * Tangled * Taxi Driver * The Ten Commandments * The Terminator * Thelma and Louise * Top Gun * Tootsie * Twister * Toy Story * Trading Places * True Grit * Unforgiven * Volcano * The Way We Were * Wings * The Wizard of Oz * Wuthering Heights * Yankee Doodle Dandy * Young Frankenstein Props The Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior plane, is often claimed to be the actual plane used during the filming of Casablanca, but no full-size plane was actually used during the filming of Casablanca.[citation needed] The back half of this plane was cut off and can be found resting along the shoreline of the Jungle Cruise attraction at the Magic Kingdom.7 Notable props currently residing in the queue * Wardrobe pieces and miniature scale props from Who Framed Roger Rabbit. * The Dejarik board used aboard the Millennium Falcon in the original Star Wars. * Freddy Krueger's red and green striped sweater from A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge. * Alex Delarge's hat from A Clockwork Orange. * Rose's dress from Titanic. Props that formerly resided in the queue * Indiana Jones' machete and monkey heads from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. * The ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz (Another pair is in the National Museum of American History administered by the Smithsonian). * The dip machine model and bullet case from Who Framed Roger Rabbit. * Spacesuit and various props from the films Alien and Armageddon. * Sam's piano from Casablanca. * A dress worn by Maria in The Sound of Music. * The title object from Cocoon. * The model Nautilus submarine and a dive suit from Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. * Susan's costume from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. * A green peacock Elizabethan dress worn by Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love. * Mary Poppins' carousel horse from the film of the same name. List of handprints in forecourt * Ann-Margret (August 31, 1994) * Eddie Albert (September 21, 1990) * Alan Alda (1988) * June Allyson (August 21, 1989) * Harry Anderson (April 29, 1989) * Lauren Bacall (April 29, 1989) * Warren Beatty (August 19, 1990) * Ringo Starr * Robby Benson (December 29, 1991) * Pat Boone (November 3, 1989) * Carol Burnett (June 25, 1988) * George Burns (May 1, 1989) * LeVar Burton * John Lennon * Paul McCartney * C-3PO and R2-D2 (December 1989) * Carol Channing (February 9, 1993) * Cyd Charisse (May 10, 1989) * Chevy Chase (March 24, 1990) * Dick Clark (June 1, 1990) * Jackie Cooper * David Copperfield (January 4, 1994) * Tom Cruise (April 9, 1989) * Macaulay Culkin (February 22, 1991) * Tony Curtis (March 27, 1992) * Geena Davis (June 10, 1992) * Rebecca De Mornay (1991) * Danny DeVito (June 17, 1990) * Gérard Depardieu (December 10, 1996) * Neil Diamond (February 1993) * Phyllis Diller (1989) * Donald Duck (May 1, 1989) * Patty Duke * Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (October 10, 1990) * Jamie Farr (May 25, 1996) * Harrison Ford (January 9, 1991) * John Forsythe * Michael J. Fox (May 29, 1999) * Annette Funicello (May 1, 1989) * Estelle Getty (April 17, 1989) * Bobcat Goldthwait (December 28, 1990) * Goofy (May 1, 1989) * Louis Gossett, Jr. (1989) * Elliott Gould (December 29, 1989) * Mark Hamill (January 13, 1990) * Daryl Hannah (February 13, 1989) * Glenne Headly (June 14, 1990) * Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog * Henry Hugglemonster * Audrey Hepburn * Pee-Wee Herman * Steven Spielberg * Charlton Heston (December 7, 1995) * Dustin Hoffman (June 14, 1990) * Hulk Hogan (November 9, 1993) * Bob Hope (May 1, 1989) * Ernie Hudson * Kate Jackson (April 16, 1989) * Michael Jackson * Samuel L. Jackson * Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley * Van Johnson * George Kennedy (December 23, 1991) * Charlie Korsmo (June 14, 1990) * Dorothy Lamour (September 12, 1990) * Michael Landon (July 13, 1988) * Angela Lansbury (November 2, 1991) * Jerry Lewis (April 10, 1996) * Ray Liotta (February 18, 1995) * George Lucas (August 26, 1989) * Steve Martin (1991) * Rue McClanahan (April 17, 1989) * Ed McMahon (June 15, 1992) * Bette Midler * Ann Miller (August 8, 1991) * Liza Minnelli (March 20, 1990) * Mary Tyler Moore (May 8, 1993) * Rick Moranis * Pat Morita * Mickey Mouse * Minnie Mouse * Leonard Nimoy (1989) * Donald O'Connor * Maureen O'Sullivan * Jack Palance * Prince Rogers Nelson * Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford * Jane Powell * Jason Priestley * Roger Rabbit * Tony Randall * Burt Reynolds * John Ritter * The Rocketeer (June 21, 1991) * Jane Russell (February 8, 1992) * Susan Sarandon (March 21, 1999) * Charlie Sheen (September 17, 1994) * Martin Short (November 1, 1991) * Ruby Slippers * Suzanne Somers (April 15, 1989) * Sally Jo Sousa (October 22, 1996) * Sissy Spacek * Sylvester Stallone (December 13, 1990) * Sally Struthers * Lily Tomlin * John Travolta * Cicely Tyson * Dick Van Dyke * Jim Varney * Patrick Wayne * Betty White * Cindy Williams * Robin Williams Category:Disney-MGM Studios Ontario Attractions